The Department of Science and Technology Regional Office No. IX (DOST-IX) is one of sixteen regional offices that the Department of Science and Technology         operates throughout the country. 

It takes pride in its world-caliber Regional Standards and Technology Laboratory (RSTL) that has successfully maintained its ISO 17025:2005 accreditation for its microbiological, chemical, and calibration laboratories over the years since its conferment in 2005 and 2011. A recent addition in its roster of firsts is the conferment of ISO 17025:2005 accreditation to its Rubber Testing Laboratory, the first and only accredited testing facility for raw and natural rubber in the country. DOST IX’s Quality Management System has been certified to ISO 9001 Standards since 2007 and has transitioned to ISO 9001:2015 as early as March of 2017. 

Covering the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur, del Norte, and Sibugay and the cities of Dipolog, Dapitan, Pagadian, Zamboanga and Isabela in Basilan, it carries out the Department’s mandate to promote local scientific and technological activities and the publicprivate sector partnership essential to making science and technology serve the growth and welfare of people and communities. DOST-IX is based in Zamboanga City and has three (3) Provincial Science and Technology Centers (PSTCs), one in each of the Zamboanga provinces. 

DOST-IX’s eighty-seven (87) officers and employees channel operations along four major service thrusts — Technology Transfer and Management, Analytical and Testing Services; Science/Technology Promotion, Information Dissemination, and Scholarships and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. All DOST-IX efforts are focused on a vision — DOST-IX as the science, technology, and innovation leader in Western Mindanao, is a nationally-recognized benchmark for performance excellence. It set the tone for DOST-IX’s drive for achievement that took off in 2003 and propelled it to its latest milestone — the 2018  Philippine Quality Award, a Recognition for Proficiency in Quality Management. 

RELX Group is a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. We help scientists make new discoveries, lawyers win cases, doctors save lives and insurance companies offer customers lower prices. We save taxpayers and consumers money by preventing fraud and help executives forge commercial relationships with their clients. In short, we enable our customers to make better decisions, get better results and be more productive. 

Scientific, Technical & Medical is an information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals advance healthcare, open  science, and improve performance for the benefit of humanity 

Risk & Business Analytics provides customers with solutions and  decision tools that combine public and industry specific content with  advanced technology and analytics to assist them in evaluating and  predicting risk and enhancing operational efficiency. 

Legal is a leading global provider of legal, regulatory and business information and analytics that helps customers increase productivity, improve decision-making and outcomes and advance the rule of law around the world. 

Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face-to-face through data and digital tools at over 500 events, in more than 30 countries,  attracting more than 7m participants. 

Reed Elsevier Philippines (REPH) is the shared services arm of RELX Group, with centers located at the UP-Ayalaland TechnoHub in Metro Manila and Iloilo Business Park in Iloilo city. Reed Elsevier Philippines was established in November 2010 and is registered as Reed Elsevier Shared Services Philippines, Inc. (RESSPI). We support customers across the world by delivering a variety of business-critical services for our RELX Group business partners. We provide business process services for operations in content, customer support, technology, finance, sales, marketing and business optimization.

The University of Mindanao (UM) is the first private, non-sectarian university in Mindanao, founded on July 1946 and chartered as a university on December 1966. It has three campuses at its main location in Davao City and five campuses in the provincial branches. UM offers 25 graduate programs, 36 undergraduate programs, 4 certificate programs, senior high school and basic education. To date, it has a total student population of 43,878, becoming the largest academic institution in Mindanao.  Key characteristics of UM’s identity and culture are its vision, mission and goals that set the        strategic direction and focus of the organization. 

Aiming recognition for its quality affordable open education, UM, under the leadership of its CEO /President, Dr. Guillermo P. Torres Jr., implemented quality assurance programs that obtained for it numerous international certifications, awards and recognitions. 

-On top of its Autonomous Status, three of its academic programs are recognized by CHED as Center of Excellence while eight are recognized as Centers of  Development. 
-All its engineering programs are accredited by the Philippine Technological Council (PTC) under ABET
-Its Computer Science and Information Technology programs are accredited by the PCS Information and Computing Accreditation Board (PICAB) under Seoul Accord
-UM is the first academic institution in Mindanao with an institutional ISO 9001:2015 Certification awarded by Société Générale de Surveillance(SGS). 
UM is recognized by the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities           Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) as the 2nd most accredited HEI in the   country, the institution with the highest number of Level III Accredited Programs in the country and the highest number of accredited programs in Region XI.
-UM is home to the highest number of licensure topnotchers in Davao City
-UM is also PMAP’s Employer of the Year (2018) for Mindanao.